Project Pitchfork
Inferno
Metropolis
An aside: If Project Pitchfork would have casually shifted themselves over to the electro-clash genre (it’s just a matter of the right shoes), they would be on every style magazine cover in about 0.25 seconds. Just food for thought.
Inferno is a none-more-poised strain of dark electro that dreams of a distinctly European musical heritage. Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and DAF are worshipped as if a trinity •- it’s an Anton Corbijn photo wrapped in barbed wire and transmitted along mobile phone lines. Sunglasses, yeah. Total Berlin. Very similar to what Covenant is doing now. It makes most sense when driving along a major interstate in the early morning hours. Routine is the machine. “Momentum” begins as a piano lament and then evolves itself by sheer force of will into ricocheting drums and shining synths -• the gleaming drone of “The Deepest Place.” That’s some deft mixing. “Souls in Ice” reminds me a lil’ bit of Nitzer Ebb; there are these subtle little distorto guitar bursts, but the vocals and synths are kept clean and cold. “(Mehr Als) Der Absprung” entirely dispenses with the increasingly irrelevant English language, substituting it with gruffly whispered German •- the song is built around chattering synths and a surprisingly affecting piano figure. It’s a little one-finger pattern, but man, it has that sad, yet hopeful, vibe with which the best depressing songs are made. “Zeitfalle” reminds me of the latter-day Young Gods, and that’s a very good thing. Screamy kids in Hot Topic could learn from this, not to mention how to hold a cigarette. (Now that was just gratuitous.)
What the fuck? Don’t hate me for this, but “A Cell” is the authentic seedy, sinister vibe that Martin Gore was trying to pull off circa “Master And Servant” but couldn’t manage, cuz deep down, he’s just a nice English lad. “Lightwave” has that repetitive simple drone that I love, and only electronic music can pull it off to maximum womb effect. I like. Suicide-y. There, I said it. It doesn’t build, it just endures, and dummos are gonna complain about the lack of release and build. Fuck them. Just get on the interstate and drive. The vocals on “The Spoken Mirror” have the same emotional gravity as those first few New Order singles. Very nice. “Crepusculum” ends it all eerie and Stalinist •- restraint, spirit of industry, synths, monitors, disconnect, replace flesh with circuitry. Bye bye America. They don’t even have to try, they’re just built better.
Metropolis Records: http://www.metropolis-records.com/
